ABSTRACT
This work aims at the experimental investigation of cementitious materials that incorporate recycled waste, in order to boost the transition of the building industry towards a sustainable path and for the development of a circular economy. More in detail, vitrified beads, which represent the by-products obtained by an innovative industrial plant that produces low-cost energy (steam and electricity), are used as partial aggregate replacement in mortars. Vitrified beads are inserted into the mixes in two different forms: “as they are”, i.e. without any pre-treatment, and after grinding, by replacing in both cases 15% of natural aggregates. The performance of the cementitious mortars with vitrified beads is assessed both on fresh and hardened samples, by means of density and consistence measurements, as well as by performing compressive and three-point bending tests. The obtained experimental results show that this by-product could be a promising waste to be recycled into construction cementitious materials.
